Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
95%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
73 wins & 111 nominations total
Propelled by Charlie Kaufman’s smart, imaginative script and Michel Gondry’s equally daring directorial touch, Eternal Sunshine is a twisty yet heartfelt look at relationships and heartache.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is like a rollercoaster ride through the mind of a heartbroken person. It’s a rom com with a sci-fi twist that will make you question the very nature of love and memory. The film is weird, chaotic, and not linear, just like our own memories. It’s touching, tragic, inspiring, funny, and hopeful all at the same time. And let’s not forget the amazing performances by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, who make us believe in the power of love even when it hurts. So, if you’re in the mood for a mind-bending, heart-wrenching, and ultimately uplifting experience, give Eternal Sunshine a chance. You won’t regret it.
Production Company(ies)
Focus Features, Anonymous Content This Is That Productions,
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Montauk, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, some drug and sexual content
Year of Release
2004
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 48m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 19, 2004 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 28, 2004
Genre(s)
Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson, directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman, produced by Anthony Bregman, Steve Golin, romance, R rating, box office gross $34.1M, reviewed by K Austin Collins, Will Self, Joe Morgenstern, Christy Lemire, Christopher Orr, Peter Bradshaw, Sergi Sánchez, Sarah Brinks, Rachel Wagner, David Walsh, Mike Massie, after a painful breakup, procedure to erase memories, relationships, heartache, memories, loss, sci-fi twist, love story, drug content, language, sexual content, Dolby SRD, DTS, Surround, Flat (1.85:1)
Worldwide gross: $74,036,715
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $116,791,912
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 949
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 12,736,304
US/Canada gross: $34,400,301
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $54,266,007
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,033
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,175,198
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $12,896,264
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 866
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $31,549,728
Production budget ranking: 1,128
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $16,989,529
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $68,252,655
ROI to date (est.): 141%
ROI ranking: 796
Kate Winslet – Clementine Kruczynski
Kirsten Dunst – Mary
Mark Ruffalo – Stan
Elijah Wood – Patrick
Tom Wilkinson – Dr. Mierzwiak
Director(s)
Michel Gondry
Writer(s)
Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry
Producer(s)
Anthony Bregman, Steve Golin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
73 wins & 111 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (250) | Top Critics (61) | Fresh (231) | Rotten (19)
It’s a surprising, clever sci-fi twist, even as the relationship drama it dredges up doesn’t feel at all like science fiction.
March 26, 2019
K. Austin Collins
Vanity Fair
TOP CRITIC
For all its high-falutin’ references this is just another rom com with a bit of angst and ontological confusion thrown into the mix.
January 9, 2018
Will Self
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind goes by like a fevered dream of love, but one you remember vividly, with profound pleasure.
May 30, 2014
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
At its core, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind could have been just another love story. Refracted through Kaufman’s wonderfully weird prism, it’s something truly memorable.
May 30, 2014
Christy Lemire
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
The result is a cinematic vagueness that makes the film less aesthetic yet more persuasive. This is how dreams really look: like reality, only less so.
May 30, 2014
Christopher Orr
The Atlantic
TOP CRITIC
It’s a very Kaufmanesque narrative experiment, technically ingenious and sophisticated. It also looks like some lost comedy idea by Philip K Dick; you could call this film We Can Forget It for You Retail.
May 30, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
At times it seems as if Roman Polanski adapted a rom com written by Philip K. Dick… [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind] is the most tenebrous romantic comedy ever filmed. [Full review in Spanish]
June 14, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Sergi Sánchez
Fotogramas
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is weird and chaotic and not linear, which wonderfully mirrors what memories are like.
March 26, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
My problem with Eternal Sunshine is I found it very surface-level
February 21, 2021
Rachel Wagner
rachelsreviews.net
There is another couplet in Eloisa to Abelard that perhaps has a bearing on the Gondry-Kaufman film: “Of all affliction taught a lover yet,/’Tis sure the hardest science to forget.”
February 15, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
Touching, tragic, inspiring, funny, hopeful, and, most importantly, powerfully romantic.
September 29, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
[The film] shows us that all real relationships are worth remembering, and that the connections we have with others are something worthy enough to fight for.
August 10, 2020
Allen Almachar
The MacGuffin…
Plot
Much to his surprise, timid Joel Barish is shocked to discover that the love of his life, sparky Clementine, has had him erased from her memory. To pay her back in the same coin, poor Joel summons up the courage to undergo a painless but intricate medical procedure to do the same, utterly unaware that darkness is an essential part of the light. Now, as hurt and angry Joel’s ugly recollections of Clementine gradually fade away, giving way to a soulless black void, suddenly, he begins having second thoughts, toying with the idea of stopping the irreversible process. In the end, is ignorance really bliss?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet showcase their talents on both the drama and the comedy to bring to life one of the greatest romantic films ever to come to the silver screen.
Michel-Gondry.jpg
